The Looming Dark (HIATUS)
by Burning-Stars98
Summary: Mephiles wakes to find he's survived time being altered, but now he's a real hedgehog and his brother Iblis is out to kill him. The only ally he has is a young woman he befriended prior to the incident. She's willing to give him a second chance, but is he willing to do the same for himself...? (Takes place before Battle for Home) (Lore loosely follows storyline of Sonic 06)
1. Awake

The hustle was never-ending. Some days were more hectic than others, but it was never a 'slow' day...

That pretty much summed up what went on in the ER of the hospital. New patients were being brought in and others taken out constantly, the word 'stat' was thrown around the halls like confetti, and there was always some bodily fluid that needed cleaning up.

But she loved it. She'd loved it for as long as she'd been in the medical field, because she always felt like she was doing something productive, no matter how small the task.

"Yo Lu!"

The nurse lifted her head from the clipboard of papers she'd been looking over, her attention falling on the gurney being brought in from the doors. "Give us a hand."

She placed the clipboard down, running over to the gurney to assist in pulling it into the building.

The second her eyes glanced at the patient however, her eyebrows furrowed. "It...It _can't_ be..."

"You _know_ him?" Another nurse expressed, "The paramedics found him at the train station without any form of identification."

"I _used_ to know him... We were just kids, though." She looked down at the patient again, "What's his condition?"

"Stable, but nobody knows what he was doing there, or how long he's been like this."

"Understood."

"What's his name?"

The nurse looked back up, her ears folding back just a tad. "His name is Solaris...Mephiles Solaris."

* * *

It was dark, which _usually_ was how I liked it.

I had spent most of my life in the darkness, simmering with a rage I'd known was not truly mine but was being forced onto me. That rage that had convinced me to seek revenge... To murder. The allies of my victims retaliated unsurprisingly, and had tried to erase my very existence...In those fleeting moments, I'd finally felt free... Peaceful.

But this darkness seemed..._Different_. It wasn't the cold, lifeless dark I had grown used to... This darkness was warm, and almost welcoming. It encased me like a blanket, pinning my limbs against me and preventing me from moving. Pain pulsed through my limbs, accompanied by a slight numbness I'd never encountered before. Despite the pain, I didn't want to leave this plane of being... It was comforting to finally be still and calm.

But I felt it abandoning me, slipping away like a curtain that was draped over me and slowly being pulled back. I made attempts to cling to it, to stay, but that appeared to not be my fate. The darkness brightened into light, and the silence was filled with an irritated beeping in my ears.

Within moments, I was no longer in the dark. Blurry surroundings hovered around me, the beeping only getting louder and faster. Something moved on the sides of my vision, and I tried to turn my head to get a better look. As it cleared, I found it to be a she-mouse in a white coat and writing down something on a clipboard.

It was all too familiar for my tastes.

The room I was in had no windows except for one looking out into a corridor, where I could see multiple other beings in coats passing. I was surrounded...

...But this time I wasn't trapped in a container.

I forced all of my concentration into moving from my stationary position, but only got a short distance before something tugged back. I fell forward onto the blanket that had previously been over me, my fingers feeling the long strands that were attached to me.

"Oh no no no!" The mouse dropped her clipboard, reaching out towards me. "You need to be-"

I squirmed away from her touch, a hiss leaving my throat. "Do not touch me! And do not give me orders to do anything...!"

"Come now, don't be difficult."

I moved further away, dropping off of the side of the bed I'd been in and onto the floor. The strands led to machines that were the source of that annoying beeping, and I ripped them free, only to regret it immediately as it took off some fur with it.

Wait...Fur?

I lifted a hand to my face, feeling it quickly. Soft fur covered me, gradually shifting to stiffer quills on the back of my head. I was adorned in a thin garment in a mint green color, which seemed to be designed to only cover the front of me. A pulsing beat in my chest suddenly filled my ears, and I noticed the breath entering and exiting my body as both sensations quickened.

I wasn't just copying the appearance of a hedgehog anymore... I was a hedgehog!

"Mr. Solaris, please don't-"

"WHAT HAVE YOU _DONE_!?"

Looking back, I hadn't meant to sound so horrified, but I wasn't exactly _happy_ either.

The mouse backed up, shock on her face for just a moment, then her eyebrows furrowed. "That's enough. Either you get back in that bed, or I will put you there myself!"

I got up onto my feet, which were also a new addition. I was surprised I even had the strength in them to remain standing. "I am Mephiles the Dark...! You do not tell me what to..."

The room was suddenly spinning on me, and I dropped back down to the floor. Apparently my feet were not as strong as I'd at first thought.

"Hard way it is, then..."

I struggled as much as I could, but it didn't stop her from dragging me back into the bed and even pinning down my arms and legs to prevent me from trying again when I recovered. "Now... I'll be back to check on you. Don't do anything stupid like _die_ while I'm gone."

"What do you _want_ with me...!?" I hissed, trying to break free of the bands holding me down, but failing and only succeeding in making myself even dizzier.

"For you to sit and rest." The mouse then left the room and disappeared down the corridor.

"_Don't die while I'm gone_...!" I muttered to myself, forced to stare up at the bland, white ceiling of the room.

I went over what I'd learned so far: I was now a hedgehog, trapped in some sort of research facility, and now restrained to a bed while waiting for some scientist to come check on me.

Honestly, the last person to just check on me in a laboratory was... Was my friend.


	2. A Sort of Reunion

**10 Years Ago...**

The laboratory was especially cold that night, despite the tons of machinery running along the room's perimeter. Even with the heat that was being given off by us, the glass tube that we hovered in remained icy.

I sat curled up into a ball, my inner core pulsing with a faint light that quivered as much as the rest of me did. I hurt from all of the tests they'd done on us that day: Sending pulses of electricity through us, stealing portions of our bodies and trapping it in tiny capsules for 'study.' My father was angry, my brother was too.

Though the terms were not exactly appropriate by the mortals' standards, it was the best comparison that I had in my head. Iblis was my other half, the half that gave me emotion supposedly. While possessing a mind of his own, we were bonded together into a singular form...and that form possessed a third mind: Solaris.

There was a part that didn't blame him for being angry; he had been treated as a god by the mortals of Soleanna for centuries, and they'd worshipped him. That had changed with the Duke of Soleanna... He'd seen Solaris for what he was: A powerful being composed on energy with untapped potential. He wanted to know more, and hence, the tiny Flame of Hope had been brought in for study... We had been brought in for study.

The machine that held us was like a vacuum, a tiny glass container with smaller tubes running from it up to the ceiling, across the ceiling and then back down to monitors on the other side of the room. Wires covered the floor like vines, and I would be lying if I said that it didn't amuse me to see a scientist trip over one from time to time. During the day, the bright lights would shine down and the room would be enveloped in white that made me long for my dark corner, but that only came at night, when the lights were out, and we were the only source of light in the room aside from the monitors and machinery keeping us contained.

I was the quiet part of Solaris, the side of him that suggested caution and to think carefully about his next move...And I think he hated my part.

I would sit and think this over every night, for those few hours when the scientists would leave us to regain our strength... It has rather lonely, having only other pieces of yourself to talk to.

That had changed one night, when a young striped possum had found her way through the floor grates and into the lab. Considering the lab was on the third floor, I couldn't imagine how she'd gotten in and out without being seen by the security cameras or heard crawling through the vents; but she did, and she came into the lab every night.

It had taken me a few nights before curiosity had gotten the best of me and I'd made contact with her. She called me 'Advanced,' a being that had exceeded normal boundaries of a typical lifeform. She never really told me what she was doing in the lab, but over time I think it became more to talk to me. She told me things going on outside, things that even the scientists never spoke of. She never gave me her name, either.

I came to enjoy her company and kind words, and would wait for her to appear every night.

But tonight she hadn't shown up at her usual time.

That worried me; had she been seen and captured trying to enter? If so, I would never see her again! Iblis and Solaris didn't care, but I did... And I hoped it wasn't true.

Hours passed, but finally I heard the familiar creaking, and I looked to see the grate on the floor shift. It moved aside, little by little, until she was able to slip inside, her eyes reflecting back the brightness of my form. "Hello..." She whispered.

"Hello..." I whispered back, "...I was wondering if you were coming."

"They've amped up security..." She placed her hands on the glass, "...Something big must be about to happen, which means I'm running low on time."

"Time for what?"

Her lips curled back into a slight smile, "...I'm working on a way to get you out of here."

Even Solaris and Iblis were curious by those words.

I strained to reach closer to the glass, "...How?"

"It's a special canister that can hold energy inside of it. I could use it to carry you out of here and then let you loose back into the world. You'd be free again...!"

_Freedom...We could finally exact our revenge on our captors...!_

I grimaced as my other parts' voices rang in my head, their rejoicing and yearning for vengeance. I did not want it, but since it was 2 against 1, that would be exactly what happened when we were freed. I would be the guilt always gnawing at them after they'd wiped out the scientists...and I had a feeling that they would not stop with them.

"...That may not be the best course of action."

It all became silent, though I could feel the heat of Iblis' rage towards my doubt.

She seemed shocked as well, "Why not? They're hurting you here!"

"I...Do not know if being free to make my own decisions will lead to better circumstances."

"You are his doubt... The negative emotions."

"I do not think I have _positive_ ones... Any others than doubt and fear are rage."

Her eyebrows furrowed, "...I'll figure something out, I promise. Be strong, Solaris."

To be honest, the problem was that I felt _too_ strong, _too_ powerful to be left to my own devices.

_They worshipped us...! We were a god, and you want to stay in this prison...!?_

I curled up tighter, _I do not want to kill. I do not see things your way._

The next few words shook me, making me tremble more than the cold. _YOU WILL..._

* * *

**Present Day**

I hadn't thought of her in a long time; mostly because I had changed after that night.

Something big _had_ happened, a test that had pushed us harder than they'd ever pushed us...and it had ended badly.

It was an accident, just like the newspapers had said. We overloaded the machine holding us, and in the process...We split.

For the first time, only my own thoughts were in my mind. For the first time, I could feel the texture of the stone floor. For the first time... I could smell the burnt flesh and death.

But when we split, some remnant of Iblis had stayed with me...The thirst for revenge. I struggled to push it to the back of my mind as I collected myself from the floor. I needed to run, to get out of the lab and into the open air... If only I'd gotten that far.

Shadow the Hedgehog had prevented me from reaching it. He'd been an experiment himself, so I never understood why he hadn't shown me mercy, but he had sealed me inside of a scepter. At first, I thought it had been the container my friend had devised, but time convinced me otherwise.

Curled up in that scepter, all I could do was plan my escape. Ten years I waited, the hatred I'd kept from Iblis tainting my mind, the pain of being separated eating at me like acid. I just wanted it to end.

When I finally got free, I had a plan. It wasn't just to get revenge, but I knew what my actions would result in. Killing Sonic, the hero of the world at the time, would bring every ally he possessed down onto my head. Recruiting Silver into my plan tied Iblis' fate with mine, and though it technically took centuries for it to be complete, it also felt like only a few days. Iblis and I were reunited, and then, just like that...The heroes tried to wipe us out for good, to prevent that from ever happening again.

Obviously, it hadn't worked, because I was still here stewing. I hadn't disappeared...the pain was still lingering in my soul, if I even had one.

Time had been rewritten now: Sonic hadn't died, the accident had never happened, but what did that mean for me? Why was I here as a hedgehog now? It was a puzzle I could not decipher, and it hurt my head to try.

I'd tried to shift out of the straps holding me down to the bed, but I'd found to my horror that my powers seemed to have left me when I was transformed... I was powerless and trapped...

..._Again._

The sound of the door alerted me to someone coming in, and I glared as the door opened and the mouse stepped back in, talking to someone out in the hall.

"I am _telling_ you, he's out of his mind...!"

"How _dare_ you accuse me like..."

I paused as the mouse's companion stepped into the room, looking me in the eye with a calm expression...

...It was her. It _had_ to be!

But...She looked the same, how could that be? It would have been ten years, if she even remembered our previous encounters.

The striped possum walked over to me, closing the curtains over the window as she looked at the mouse. "Watch the door, Beth..." She whispered.

"Okay...?"

I looked at my old friend, examining her features once more. Her hair was longer, her eyes the same bright aqua but looking more tired. "You...You might not _remember_, but it's-"

I was suddenly cut off as the backside of her hand met my cheek, leaving behind a stinging pain.

"You idiot...!" She hissed under her breath, "You said you didn't want to _hurt_ anyone!"

"I _didn't_! It was..." I gave a hard sigh, looking away from her glaring. "...It's _complicated_."

"Obviously...! You'd better have a good explanation-"

"Chiros is incoming." Beth informed, peeking through the door's window. "We'd better skedaddle."

She stepped back from me, her expression softening just slightly. "We're not done with this conversation, Solaris." She hissed, stepping back towards the door.

The door was flung open and a bat came marching in with scowl. "Lunar! Why aren't you in the ER?" He demanded.

_Lunar... So that was her name._

She tapped her clipboard with a pen, "Sedna sent me down here to evaluate his condition. I was just on my way out..."

"Well get back up there! We've got more patients inbound."

"Yes sir."

Lunar gave me another glare once the bat's back was turned, and then hurried out of the room.

So she _worked_ in this lab...I'd have plenty of questions for when she came back.


	3. We Escaped, But I Don't Remember That

If the way Lunar had approached me was unsettling, then this bat's approach was downright _terrifying_. He stood there for a moment, a grin on his face, then I watched those eyes flash green, and I felt a shiver run through me, freezing me in a stiff position.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen..." he cooed, "What's it like, being strapped to a table?"

My ears folded back as I snapped out of my frozen state; that voice was all too familiar. "You traitor! You worthless piece of-"

He came forward, grabbing my neck. "If anyone was a traitor, it was _you_. I was willing to follow the plan. _You_ were the one who decided to include that useless child. You wanted _him_ to do it, because _you_ didn't want to be responsible."

"You're insane...!"

He leaned in close. "And I made _you_ that way...!" Iblis looked over his body, "This body isn't unique... but it serves its purpose... Too bad about it's original owner, though..."

I shut my eyes, trying not to think of what must've been done for Iblis to inhabit the body. "You're wrong...Both you _and_ him! This isn't how things should've gone!"

"The only problem is that this body is flammable... if I use my powers, it will simply melt away, and I'll have to find a new one."

I struggled to free myself, I wanted my hands around his neck. Why wouldn't my powers work!?

"Oh...but it appears your own powers have left you. Good. It'll make killing you later much _easier_...!"

" Not even a Time Rupture can kill me...!"

"Perhaps not...but-"

**Dr. Chiros, please report to the front office.** A voice said over the communicator in his pocket.

Iblis hissed in frustration, then his smile returned. "Duty calls... see you later, brother."

I glared as he left the room, my hands clenching into fists. _Not if Lunar can free me first...!_

* * *

It was dark by the time she came back.

I'd drifted in and out of sleep, every sound making me think Iblis was back. I should've known that if I'd survived, he did too, but...why? Why had fate spared us?  
I opened my eyes as I heard the door creak open, and slowly, she appeared. She was no longer wearing the white coat from before, instead a black jacket, and it was obvious she wasn't supposed to be here right now.  
"Just like old times, huh?" I said.

Lunar crossed her arms, "Barely... you meet Dr. Chiros?"

I growled, "Yes... he's not who he says he is."

She smirked, "I've known that since I started working here, but nobody believes me."

"Speaking of which, why do you work here? I thought you _hated_ labs."

She sighed, "You misunderstand. This isn't a laboratory, it's a hospital. The lab is part of it, but it's for identifying diseases."

"Then what does the rest of the facility do?"

"A hospital takes in sick and hurt individuals and heals them to the best of our ability." She sighed, "Like 'John Does' who're found at the train station, bleeding and with no identification."

"Who was that?"  
She stared at me, eventually raising an eyebrow, and I shook my head as I realized what she was implying. "Do I look like a _cervine_ to you!?"

"It's a term for someone with no identification so we don't know who they are. Don't ask me where it came from."

I tried to get my hands free, then looked at her. "Help me get loose."

"Why? So you can abandon me again? No, I don't trust you."

"You trusted me _before_, why not now?"

"Because between 'before' and 'now,' you tried to destroy me."

"It wasn't by choice, I _swear_!"  
I realized I'd have to be careful if I wanted her to help me. "Please, if you let me go, I'll explain _everything_."

She didn't look convinced, but slowly... she reached over and unhooked my limbs from the bed. "Don't. Make me _regret_ this, Mephiles."

I shook my head, then got up. "So how do we escape this facil-"  
I suddenly yelped as she stabbed me in the shoulder with something. A needle. "What are you..."

"You're dead, okay?"

That was the last thing I heard before darkness overwhelmed me.

* * *

The next thing I felt was movement, a jostling about that shook me back into consciousness.  
Everything was blurry and my head felt heavy, but I managed to open my eyes and turn it, finding dark sky but illuminated streets going by me. "What...?"

"Good, you're awake."  
I turned my head, finding Lunar behind the wheel of the vehicle I was in. "You hungry yet?"

"You _tricked_ me..." I smirked, "I'm impressed."

"I've fooled a_ lot_ of people in my lifetime... Now, tell me why you went all crazy on me."

Right... I'd promised her answers, right before she stabbed me with something. "What _was_ that?"

"Sedative. I keep it handy in case of emergency. It kept you out for two hours, which is impressive, since that kind is supposed to keep people under for up to six." She looked at me, "Now, the explanation?"

"Right... do you know about Solaris?"

"Solaris... what was once the deity of Soleanna, but destroyed by time-travel, hopefully."

I hoped that too.  
"He was a being that had two sons... Iblis, and I. When the Duke started trying to convince people that Solaris was just an energy being, my father got...angry."

"So he sent you to destroy everything."

" Well...not _exactly_... I mean, it wasn't as straight forward as that..." I paused, trying to find the right words. "... Iblis was all for it, but I was not... so they... they brainwashed me, in a sense... made my mind see things their way."  
I leaned back in the seat, looking out the front window. "...how'd you get me out without anyone noticing, Lunar?"

"It wasn't _easy_, I'll tell you that..." she gripped the wheel a little tighter, "...and Lunar is just my last name, like yours is Solaris..."

"Then what is your first?" I sat up again, trying to catch her gaze. "It's only fair that I know your name, since you know mine."

She looked in the mirror, then sighed. "...Alabaster. Alabaster Lunar. But my friends call me Abbie."

"Alabaster...I like it. Your parents chose well."

Alabaster stiffened, "For future reference, don't ever speak about my parents, okay? _Especially_ my mother."

"Why not?"

"Just..._DON'T_."

I shrugged, leaning back again.  
I suddenly felt pain in my stomach as it rumbled, and I turned to face her. "...to answer your question earlier, I do appear to need nourishment."

Alabaster grinned, "Not so fun being an organic, huh?"  
She reached into the back of the car, pulling out a piece of bread. "We'll start out slow. Things like chocolate and wine can come later."

"From what I've seen of intoxicated mortals, I hope I'm immune to that side effect."  
I took a bite of the bread, then noticed the chains linking my wrists to the arms of the seat. She still didn't trust me.  
The bread however, though bland, lessened that pain I felt. The texture on my tongue was odd too...

"Why do you say that?"

I turned to her. "What?"

"'Mortals.' Why do you call everyone you meet a 'mortal?'"

"Is that not truth?"

"Not everyone is immortal, I know. But you say it like you're _proud_ that you'll outlive everyone else."

"I am. It means that anyone who annoys me will eventually find a grave somewhere." _Even you..._

She grinned, "That's not the point... even if I _was_ immortal, that would make me feel sad. Because that means the people I actually care about will go on without me. Eventually, I'll be alone, with nobody but my own thoughts to keep me company. Then I'll _really_ lose my mind!"

I'd never thought of it that way... "What do you mean, 'really lose your mind?'"

"Look at me! I am driving through Waterwheel, Northamer, with a hedgehog logged as insane by the medical field in my passenger seat-"

"_Chained_ to the seat." I interrupted, hoping to express my discomfort, but she ignored it.

"Right. With him in my passenger seat, heading for a pass that'll be blocked up at any time now, to hide out until this cools down." She looked at me. "Why am I even helping you? I mean, it's not like we really got to know each other very well back in the lab."

I would've crossed my arms if not for the chains. "I don't know why you helped me either... Perhaps because you don't think I'm as bad as everyone claims."

"Solaris, regardless of whether your family brainwashed you, or if time was rewritten or not, you still practically _murdered_ someone."

"I know..."  
I looked out the window as buildings passed, "...And I have no excuse for that."

There were several seconds of quiet, only the rumble of the road beneath the car. A hard sigh then left her throat, "...Try to get some sleep. I'll wake you if something interesting shows up that requires your attention."

I leaned my head back on the headrest, continuing to stare out the window. I didn't feel particularly tired, but eventually the darkness came over me, but this time, it was welcoming...


	4. Driving

The next thing I knew, the roads under us had grown much smoother, and the sun had risen over the horizon.

"Good morning..."

I turned to face Alabaster, "How far have we gone?"

"We've been driving about seven hours." Alabaster pulled into the parking lot of a building, the sign reading Central Line Visitors Center.

"Why are we stopping?"

She unbuckled herself, "Because unlike you _immortals_, after driving for seven hours, a girl's gotta stretch and relieve herself."  
She then leaned over and undid the chains. "Come on."

"I don't require to-"

"Maybe not _now_, but five minutes after we get on the road, I guarantee you _will_. Now come on."

I undid the seat belt and climbed out of the car after her, "...This is the strangest experience I think I've ever encountered."

"Same here."

I followed her a few steps, but paused to look back at the road we'd temporarily turned off of.  
I could run right now, sprint for the trees on the other side and be on my own again... But for some reason it didn't feel right to. This girl owed me nothing- if anything_ I_ owed _her_ an astronomical apology- and yet she'd just given up her job, her home and her reputation to protect me. It seemed so foolish for her to give up everything for someone she didn't really know, but I knew she was far from a fool.

Perhaps it was a mortal thing, one of the many impulses they gained that I had neither experienced nor understood... But I almost wanted to.

"Standing in the middle of the lot's not a good idea."

I looked up as she spoke, finding her at the door to the building and tapping her foot impatiently. I gave one more look at the wood...And then moved to join her.

* * *

We were back on the road shortly after, and after promising no 'funny-business,' she allowed me to ride unchained.  
I looked out the window as we drove, as fields, lakes and hills passed us between towns, and I finally bothered to ask, "Where exactly are you taking me?"

"Timber Creek." Alabaster replied. "I have a house there we can hide out in... the only way to reach it is through a mountain pass, which will be blocked off by snow soon."

"Which will prevent anyone from following us?" I suggested, getting a nod. "Excellent strategy."  
As we pulled off onto a side road and the blinker flashed for a moment, I turned to her. "How long have you been driving?"

"Well, we left Harbinger at about 12 AM, so-"

"No. I meant how long have you been _able_ to drive?"

"Oh...Almost twenty-five years."

"You don't look like you've been driving that long. In fact, you look the same as you did when I met you."  
She blushed, keeping her gaze off of me. She knew it was coming. "How old are you, exactly?"

"First of all, you don't ask a woman their age." She turned to me, "Second, I know what you're thinking, and no, I'm not immortal...not really. I just don't choose to look my age. If I did, people would recognize me and it would raise questions... questions I don't want anything to do with. Dammit, just go around...!"

I raised an eyebrow, wondering if she was still talking to me, but then caught sight of a car behind us. "...They seem rather close to us."

"Exactly. They've been riding my bumper for a while and I'm already going the speed limit." Her ears folded back against her head, "Part of me's tempted to just put this thing into flight mode."

I perked up, "Your vehicle has flight capabilities? Why haven't you engaged it before?"

"Because what it makes up for in speed and 'coolness', it severely lacks in fuel efficiency. Also, I'd need to pick up a little more speed than this..." She looked back at the car, which seemed to be inching ever closer to us. "...Aw heck with it."

I looked as she then swerved into the other lane and her foot pressed the pedal to the floor. The car's engine roared as we picked up speed, and then she pulled a lever, and the rattling of the road then vanished, replaced by a vibrating under my feet. The landscape fell below us, the road becoming a thin strip of gray winding through green below.  
"Do I dare ask how you obtained such a vehicle...?" I questioned.

"You can ask, but I won't tell..."

Fair enough.

* * *

We flew for only a short time, but it was long enough that the green under us had begun to shift, and by the time we returned to the pavement, all green had been replaced by a clear and bright shade... White.

I hadn't seen much snow, Soleanna was too hot for it most years. But I had enough knowledge of it to know that it could be both beautiful and dangerous.

"How much do you think is on the ground?" I asked.

"Only a few inches," Alabaster replied. "But by tomorrow, it should be at least a foot. That's twelve inches."

"I know. You act as if I shouldn't_ know_ these things."

"Well since you've spent most of your life either locked up in a lab or locked up in a scepter, it's hard to calculate how much about the world you actually know."

"It's still not considerate to call someone stupid."

"I didn't, I called you '_a ten-year-old who's spent most of his life in a canister_.'"

"That's offensive."

"I don't really care. If I'm rude, fine, but you're not gonna get me to apologize for speaking the truth."

_...she's more like me than I at first guessed_. "So this safehouse of yours... why do you have it?"

"Just in case of something like this... in case someone recognized me and I had to leave town."

"What, are you some outlaw?"

"No...I'm a dead girl who wants to stay that way..."

I didn't ask any more questions, because then we entered Arin's Pass.  
The rocky cliffs around us towered high, and I suddenly felt an urge to get out of there as soon as possible. I'd spent too much time sealed away and trapped.

We drove for a good ten minutes through the pass, everything getting darker and darker by the second, then, we finally pulled free, and I saw Timber Creek below.  
It was far from the large cities I'd grown used to on this car ride. Small, its lights stuck out like stars against a dark landscape in the valley below. It looked like those little towns you'd see on holiday postcards, quiet and peaceful, which may be what I needed.

Alabaster pulled up to a small building, and I slumped back in my seat as she looked down the window.

"Welcome to Tim...Abbie!" The bird behind the desk grinned, "I haven't seen you in some time!"

"Always fashionably late, Eric." Alabaster grinned, "You be careful getting home to the kids."

"Will do."

Alabaster pulled away and I relaxed, sitting up again.

Alabaster saw this and grinned. "Relax, nobody here would even care if they knew who you were."

"To the world I'm either a killer or a lunatic..."

"Or just a new face in town. Don't worry, we can hang out here as long as we'd like."

Or at least until Iblis thinks I _froze_ to death... The cold air that had entered the car while we were stopped had been freezing.

The drive down into the little town was without conversation, and I noticed lots of people still out on the streets, despite the weather.  
Finally Alabaster pulled into a quieter part of town and then pulled the car into the garage of a small house. "Here we are..." she whispered as she got out.

I hesitated a moment, my hand on the handle, then slowly, I opened the door and exited the vehicle.

Here I was. In a strange place, in a strange house with somebody I hardly knew...

...And yet I felt more safe than I ever had before.


	5. The Safehouse

The first thing I'd noticed when we entered the house was how warm it was for somewhere that had been empty for months on end. It lacked in the decorating, with only the necessary pieces of furniture in the front space: a couch, an old TV set, and a table with two chairs in the kitchen.

Along with the furniture was a large pile of boxes in the corner of the living space, words scribbled on the sides of what was in them: Most of them had '_medical_.'

"What _is_ all of this?" I inquired, pointing to the boxes. I turned my head to look at her just in time for something thick and soft to come flying into my face. I stumbled back a step or two, pulling the object down to examine it: A blanket.

"It's my medical school stuff, and research papers."

"You just kept all of it?"

Alabaster smirked, "You'd be surprised how handy it can be to pull some random, contagious disease out of a hat." She motioned to the TV, "You can try that if you want, though with the snow, it might not get good reception. Goodnight."

I watched her wander down the hallway and then disappear into one of the rooms, the door creaking as she closed it. For the first time in a while, I was alone and unrestrained; I could leave if I wanted to... But I didn't want to. My abductor was growing on me, I think the mortals called it '_Stockholm Syndrome_,' though usually in stories it was the other way around, with the male being the captor.

There was so much about her that I didn't know, that I wanted to know. Her kindness was something I'd never experienced and remembered craving for during those harsh times.

I decided not to fiddle with the television, instead unfolding the blanket and wrapping it around myself as I took a seat on the couch. The house was now very quiet, aside from the faint whistling of the wind outside the window, there was hardly a sound. I saw the light in the hall go out, plunging the space into darkness.

Darkness...My native element. It felt good, soothing in a way, to just sit where nobody could see you. I closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the wall and enjoying the silence...

* * *

A beeping caught my attention, and I realized I must've fallen asleep as I opened my eyes. The darkness had been chased away by the light outside, though the house was still dark with hardly any lights on.

I found I had fallen over at some point, my head now resting on the arm of the couch with the blanket still wrapped around me like a chrysallis. I sat up, looking around the space slowly before looking at the kitchen.

Alabaster was pouring something hot into a cup, but turned to look at me. "Good morning..." She greeted, walking towards me. "How'd you sleep?"

"...Alright, I suppose." I admitted. I shifted position, allowing her to take a seat beside me.

"We got about five inches out there..." Alabaster explained, "I've already shoveled the driveway and gone into town to get groceries."

I looked at the clock on the wall: 7:35 AM. "...Already?"

Alabaster grinned as she took a sip of her drink, "I like to get stuff done as soon as I can... We didn't have any food, so that was a 'sooner not later' thing."

I caught a whiff of what she was drinking; it smelled good... and _familiar_. "What's that?"

"Coffee... Want some?"

Coffee... That explained it. Soleanna had been a big exporter of coffee, though I'd never really tried it for myself.

"What happened to 'starting out slow...?'" I reminded from our drive.

"I'll make an exception to that rule for coffee. It's a staple for life among us _mortals_..." She got up from the couch, "I'll get you your own cup though, I don't want your immortal backwash."

She quickly returned with a second cup, only partially filled. The warmth seeped through to my fingers, and I blew gently on the top before taking a cautious sip. I considered it's qualities as I looked back down into the dark liquid: Hot...a little bitter, but also soothing.

"...It's good." I informed, noticing her gaze as she awaited my answer. "...Thank you."

I just about dropped the cup however, as a sharp pain jolted through me. My grip on the cup tightened as I grimaced, the pain ebbing away as quickly as it had come.

"Are you okay?"

"I...Yes." I lied, setting the cup down carefully on the floor. "Nothing to worry about..."

Alabaster didn't seem fully convinced, but she gave a nod and then took another sip of her coffee. She then set hers down also and crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing a little. "...You think anybody else remembers?"

"Remembers what?"

"All of that...The Soleannan events."

My ears folded back a little as I slumped deeper into the couch, "I hope not... I almost wish I didn't remember."

"Yeah... But if you forget where you've been, then you'll never be able to see how far you've come."

"Except I haven't gotten anywhere yet."

"There it is... '_yet_.'" Alabaster tucked her tail up around her legs, "...You can be whoever you want to, Mephiles... But that's a choice you have to make. Don't let other people make that choice for you."

"Not even you?"

"_Especially_ not me..." She picked up her cup again, "I just want you to live looking forward, not back... The past is never a good place to live, hence why I don't talk about mine."

We spent the next few minutes in silence, finishing our coffee. Once finished, Alabaster returned them to the kitchen and started on making some food for us to eat. I used this time as a chance to explore the rest of the house.

Down the hallway were several rooms, which I peered into and counted: 1 bathroom, 2 bedrooms, a small closet...

Something dangling from the ceiling caught my attention, and as I looked up, I saw it was a piece of thin rope, tied to a wooden board attached to the ceiling. I could have asked about it, but curiosity got the better of me. The next thing I knew, I was tugging hard on the rope to uncover its purpose.

The wooden board suddenly dropped down, and I barely avoided being hit in the face again; this time by a ladder sliding down to the floor with a loud clatter.

I dropped to the floor to dodge, whipping around to look at the object that had attacked me. "W-What in Solaris' name...!?"

Alabaster came running around the corner, pausing to look at the ladder, and then at me. "Really." She muttered.

"There was a rope, and then it tried to kill me!" I defended, "...Why is there a trap door in the ceiling, anyway?"

"That's the attic door." Alabaster walked over, shoving the ladder back up and then closing the door once again. "It leads to the attic, which is a storage space that I hardly ever use, hence the dust all over the floor now."

I looked at the dust now coating the floor as well as my fur, "...Right." I got back up to my feet, brushing myself off. "I can assure you, I will not make that mistake again."

"No, I wouldn't think so... Sheesh."

She returned to her work in the kitchen, leaving me standing there alone for a moment and unsure of what to do next.

"Now might be a good time to try the television..." I decided quietly, moving out of the hall a little quicker when I heard the attic door creaking. I did not want to be there when it fell again.


End file.
